I stood there face-to-face with the pistol. “You don’t love me,” she said “you never did!” “I do, I’ve always loved you!” I said convincingly. Her hands shook as sweat rolled down her face. My audience, in shock, feared for their lives. “You gave me away, you never came back for me!” Her words sent me back to the day when the decision was made.
 “I’m gon’ be a famous R&B singer!” I said happily. “Not with that belly. What makes you think you will amount to anything in life?” Her words were like knives stabbing me in the heart. “I believe,” I said as I lowered my head. “Well don’t, you ain’t gon’ be shit!” she shot back. I hated her, I hated her with a passion. She was a cruel bat for no reason. We continued to argue, getting louder with each statement. “You’re not having this baby,” she said as she punched me in the stomach. I ran out of the house, having no intentions of returning. I had no idea as to where I was going, so I walked until my legs couldn’t carry me anymore. I couldn’t have this baby, I didn’t even have a home. I slept on a bench that night. The next morning I went to the doctor for an abortion. “You’re already too far along to have an abortion, maybe you should consider adoption,” the doctor explained, only trying to help. I didn't want to give my baby away, but I had no choice. I wasn’t fit to care for this baby. She began to question me about the baby's father and my living situation. "Stay out of my business, will ya!" I shouted, feeling attacked. She threw her hands up in defense, "I'm only trying to help!" I got up and left. I felt like the world was against me.
"HEY! HEY! You're still not listening!" She shouted at me. Suddenly my attention was back on the gun pointed at my forehead. I didn't understand why she hated me so much. Why did she decide to come back and kill me now, in front of my fans? "I couldn't take care of you, I was a baby myself. I didn't have a home, money, or a mother. I gave you away so that you could have a better life. I didn't want you to suffer just because I was," I tried explaining. "Don't you listen to my music? My songs are about you." "No! Stop!" She interrupted, shaking her head. "You ruined my life! You weren't there! I called for you every night while he was in my room, you never came!" I took a step towards her, reaching for a hug. I was speechless. My baby, they took my baby's innocence. I felt her pain.
"Every night I sat in my bed, knees pulled to my chest, hoping that he would not come home. Every night I lost hope. A tear rolled down my cheek each time he stuck his key in the lock. The nights when he came home drunk were the worst. He stumbled in my room every night. It became a routine. I called for you, "MOM!... MOM! ... HELP! ... PLEASE!" "Who you calling for?" He yelled as he covered my mouth. "She gave you up, remember? She don't love you! It's up to me to love you, so that's what I'm doing!" He constantly reminded me that you gave me away, so now I'm here to remind you!"

Old money is when the wealth has been in the family for many years. The money is passed down through generations. They were able to maintain their wealth over the years. They are able to increase their wealth by investing smart. This is the class that everyone wishes to be in. In The Great Gatsby, Tom is an example of old money. He did not waste his money by showing it off, yet everyone still knew that he was wealthy. When people have old money, they tend to be a bit more arrogant than the rest of the world.
New money, on the other hand, comes from a new business that is in the process of succeeding. People with new money need to flaunt or boast about their money by wearing flashy clothes or having the latest gear.They don't spend money well due to the excitement of having that much money. Gatsby, for instance, had parties every week, had nice flashy clothes, and a flashy car. He had to work hard for his money, nothing was handed to him on a silver plate.
Everyone else just live a regular life, hoping to become like old money. They try their hardest to keep up with the cost of living.

Thankful!

One person that I am truly thankful for in our class is Sam K. I've know him since freshman year. He started out not liking me because I would harass him about not talking to me, but over the summer we became closer. We almost worked the same summer job, but I turned it down for another one! We eat lunch together just about everyday! He fills my day with laughter with his ridiculous stories. He reminds me what our homework is, even though I still don't do it. He also helps me with it, when he knows what he's doing.  He is also my buddy who I walk to 8th period with. We both have it on the third floor, so we complain about the number of stairs the whole way up. All in all, Sam is a good person and a great friend, and I am really thankful for him!

I Celebrate Myself!

While looking at the other blogs, I've seen most people say that they celebrate themselves because of their accomplishments, because they love their personality, they don't care about what other people think of them, or because they're cool or popular! A lot of people feel they should celebrate themselves for being a leader, but not everyone can be a leader! What about the people who are followers, or aren't as cool, or feel they haven't accomplished anything? Are they not allowed to celebrate themselves? I feel that you should celebrate yourself for just waking up! I celebrate myself for dragging myself out of bed every morning! I celebrate myself for attempting to have a great day! I celebrate myself for making other people laugh! I celebrate myself for the simplest things, the things no one else recognizes!

Edgar Allen Poe

Edgar Allen Poe was an American poet who was known for his gothic or horror stories. Some of the pieces he is most known for are The Tell-Tale Heart, The Raven, and The Fall of Ligea. In most of his stories, it takes place in a spooky place, and he gives you clues that makes you want to know more. Poe leaves hints in his writing about his own life. In just about every story that I’ve read  from Poe, someone dies. I am aware that he lost three loved ones, all in a short period of time, maybe this is why he kills off people in his story. His wife Virginia was also his cousin, this refers back to his story “The Fall of the House of Usher.” In the story, he tells us that the Usher family likes to marry within the family, in order to keep the wealth. Funny how his uncle left him all of his wealth right before he died! All in all, I think Poe is a great writer! His stories are intriguing and leaves you wanting more. 

Are You American?

As said in most of our class discussions, most people consider themselves to be partially American. They claim these other nationalities because that is where their ancestors came from. To be honest, most of the people who put another nationality in front of American has never even visited their “home town”. They don’t follow the traditions of those people, and they don’t live there, so why claim it? We claim to be these other thing because we were once told by another confused person that we are. Although some people may try to recreate their cultures from their ancestors’ native land, we still change it to fit the American ways.

Some people may also see being an American as living in America. That does play a big part. If you live in one of the Americas, and live by the American ways, you can be called an American. Most of the people who claim to be something else cant tell you the simplest thing about that countries history.

Despite the fact that there are many different types of people who live in America, we are American first. There is no point in classifying yourself because, technically, we’re all American, so we’re all the same!

Modern Day Puritans!

 Although most people think Puritans no  longer exist in society today,  they technically still do! We are  more like the Puritans  than we think.  In the book  The  Scarlet  Letter, the Puritans  use the rose bush  as a  symbol of hope in what they wanted to be a utopian society.  We all  have different  items that serves as a " rose  bush"  in our lives. The Puritans  also used the bible as their  laws,  the government also used the  bible to help create some laws for today's society.  Last but not least,  the Puritans  believed in punishing their people  by  exposing them  to the public.  Many  people may  not realize it,  but we do that a lot!  Every time we see the  celebrities'  business plastered  across our TV  screens,  and  every talk show in the country is talking about their mistakes,  we are publicly shaming them!  All in all, I  think we should think twice about judging the Puritans,  because we are one in the same!